MMF paper on conflict escalation published

Original research by the Medical Mediation Foundation reveals a clear pattern to the way in which conflicts between families and health professionals escalate.

The research, published in Archives of Disease in Childhood, concludes:

Conflicts escalate in a predictable manner. Clearly identifiable behaviours by both clinicians and parents are defined as mild, moderate and severe. Mild describes features like the insensitive use of language and a history of unresolved conflict.

Moderate involves a deterioration of trust, and a breakdown of communication and relationships. Severe marks disintegration of working relationships, characterised by behavioural changes including aggression, and a shift in focus from the child’s best interests to the conflict itself. Though conflicts may remain at one level, those which escalated tended to move sequentially from one level to the next.